Beautiful Days 2018

Escot Park, Devon

Date: 17/08/2018

Beautiful Days was the brainchild of the Levellers, named after their (not really) hit single. They must be doing something right, as it’s now been going sixteen years and expanded to 17,000 people congregating in a field in Devon. There’s an unashamedly hippy / family atmosphere, with no corporate branding or sponsorships, and with seven stages all told, there’s plenty going on. I did this one en famille, and there was plenty to keep my almost-eleven year old entertained. Not just the bands, but performance art around the site, activities, stalls, all manner of contraptions, and a theatre tent. Throw in plenty of decent food stalls and bars run by local brewery Otter offering some fine beers for a measly £4 a pint, and you’re in for a treat. Plus giant illuminated ambulatory bird skeletons.

Things kick off on Friday with Levellers doing an acoustic set in the Big Top tent. I’ll be honest, at this point I’m a bit Levellered out. Had a lot of fun with them over the years, but I’m increasingly bored of the way that, despite having around a dozen albums in their catalogue now, their live show has for years relied on the same pool of maybe twenty songs. This isn’t any exception. The addition of strings and extra percussion make for some interesting rearrangements, but it’s fundamentally the same old thing, and they’ll repeat a lot of these songs in their electric set on Sunday. Next for me was Justin Sullivan, the New Model Army frontman, doing an acoustic solo spot. The polar opposite of the Levellers’ set, this is a deep dive into some of the unexplored corners of the recent NMA catalogue, with not the sniff of a hit or a singalong anywhere (well, a little bit in Bad Old World). It’s super intense and passionate, and I love it, while recognising that there isn’t a lot here for the uncommitted. Over on the main stage , we catch a bit of My Baby, who are very promising. A Dutch trio with a brother and sister rhythm section laying down a pulsating hypnotic groove while the guitarist plays psychedelic riffs and bluesy slide over the top. Good stuff. Vintage Trouble are my next appointment. Their blues/rock/soul isn’t really to my taste, but my God, what a spectacular frontman. Ty Taylor is all over the stage, working the crowd tirelessly, quite often in the crowd, climbing the sound desk in the middle of the field and crowdsurfing back to the stage. Top quality entertainment. Deciding to leave Feeder back in the 90s, it’s back to the tent to catch Les Negresses Vertes who offer perhaps the most purely enjoyable set of the day. Unconvinced by the pedestrian garage rock of the Hives on the main stage, after half an hour I opt for Suzanne Vega. She’s good, and goes down well with the crowd in the tent, but it’s all a little too thoughtful for a Kid who by this time is on the outside of a healthy amount of cider. And so to bed.

First act on the Saturday is festival stalwarts Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs, whose punk skiffle is really just a vehicle for a series of jokes. They have been flogging these jokes around the festival circuit for at least ten years now, but, yeah, they’re still funny. Elephant Sessions are one of my discoveries of the weekend, traditional Scots folk with a very active rhythm section. There’s definitely a fair bit of Shooglenifty in their sound, and if you ever enjoyed them then these are well worth a listen. Also, the mandolin player doesn’t half look like the late seventies Jerry Garcia, which can’t be a bad thing. I wanted to see Nadine Shah next but turns out she’s had to cancel due to an emergency operation. Yikes. Get well soon, Nadine. Instead it’s British Sea Power over on the main stage. I dunno about this lot. I want to like them, but somehow it never happens for me. Tonight is no exception. There are occasional stirring moments, but it’s mostly uniform plodding porridge. Eric Bibb together with his bassist and drummer make a lovely acoustic blues three piece, gentle and warm. Unfortunately there are four people on stage, and the extra one has an electric guitar and is very keen for us to know it. Without him, it’d be great, with him…not so much. Manic Street Preachers are the main stage headliners, and they play a set for the occasion. This is the Manics in full arena rock mode, all singles and singalongs, plus a Cure cover (In Between Days). It’s entertaining, but just a little bit too slick for me. Correctly surmising that they are not going to serve up “Die In The Summertime” or “The Intense Humming Of Evil” to ten thousand happy punters, I go to catch the last forty minutes of Calexico, who are their usual excellent selves.

Sunday starts with The Bar Steward Sons Of Val Doonican who specialise in outrageous knitwear and parodies of songs you all know. They are fun but having already seen them at Bearded Theory this year, the novelty gets exhausted pretty quickly. They are a genuine hit, though, with the tent (capacity 3000) absolutely rammed at midday. It is not quite so full for the next act, AW favourites (ish) Curse Of Lono. I hung around to watch these on the basis of reviews here, and it paid off. An enjoyable set, but it did leave me wondering what we call things like this these days, now that no one says alt-country anymore? Americana doesn’t quite seem to fit this lot, plays down the rock influences too much. Anyway, they were good and went down pretty well. Skinny Lister are a riot. Hugely uptempo, with a frontwoman who is a relentlessly enthusiastic, constantly moving, force of nature (she might be brilliant on stage, I bet she’s a nightmare in the Transit on an eighteen hour drive between gigs, like Father Noel Furlong organising his Riverdance competition in Ted’s caravan). Doubleplus fun. Jah Wobble And The Invaders Of The Heart are much more relaxed over on the main stage. Those fluid Wobble basslines and dub explorations go over very well, as does his stream of consciousness rambles likening various instruments to animals of the jungle. Not so hot when he tries to sing properly, however. Next up is The Wildhearts who simply blow it out of the water. Maybe the set of the festival for me, their high energy guitars and big choruses push all my buttons. It’s good to see Ginger well after his troubles, and he seems to be having a blast on stage. The setlist is largely drawn from the “Earth Vs The Wildhearts” album, and why wouldn’t it be? The band just drop hook after hook after hook. Superb. Sadly, back in the tent Oysterband don’t fare so well. This is a much more sedate version of a band I used to love, lacking all the fire and energy they once had. It’s all very polite, and even the once-riotous Blood Wedding comes over as a drivetime Radio 2 number. This was the first time I’d seen them for years, and it’ll probably be the last. Following them was some geezer called Richard Thompson, but I figured no one here would be interested in that, so off I went to watch Gogol Bordello who are still knocking out their gypsy punk schtick. And then the festival closes with Levellers playing their main stage slot. As above, there are no real surprises in the set list, mostly the same songs as last year in a different order. They’re into it though, and it’s the last night, and I’ve had a drink, and they do throw in one or two more unusual numbers and what the hell, I enjoyed it. A few fireworks and a final late night mosey around the site, and it’s all over. Another smashing weekend. The last thing my daughter says to me on Sunday night is “When do the tickets go on sale for next year?”

The audience:

Goddam longhairs and commies

It made me think..

I love festivals. Three or four days away from real life in a field with loads of like minded people is a pleasure

aha, I did wonder if there were any Afterworders lurking! Enjoy it? I should probably have chosen RT over Gogol Bordello, but the group I was with were very keen to get a decent spot on the hill for the Levellers, and I was reminded that I had probably done enough solo exploring for the weekend…

Absolutely top blast! The weather helped enormously, obviously – especially with the irksome back and forth trek between car park and camp site – and Skirky Junior’s graduation from needing to spend most of his time in the Kids Field was a boon.

Hey ho, a few good ‘uns there but lots of lesser fare put me off buying tickets this year. But it remains on my possibles for future years. Elephant Sessions are getting a good name everywhere, must investigate. Anything to fill the Shooglenifty sized hole in my listening has to have merit.
Off to Towersey tomorrow. I will however, unlike the Kid, report back on that Thompson fella

We did BD a few years ago as Mrs. T wanted to do a proper festival and it is very near where we live. Having now done Cropredy and also Looe, I don’t think we would go back. We found the atmosphere in the main arena wasn’t very friendly and actually quite threatening especially after dark when everyone seemed extremely refreshed, although the tented stage area was great. Getting in with all the camping equipment was a real angst – it had been raining and they were making you cart everything in and out through one entrance as they were checking for glass bottles (although they provided bins for glass recycling), so it got very muddy very quickly. There were security watchtowers in the camping fields and we found out why – there were reports of people entering the site and raiding tents, and I’ve heard people saying there were fence jumpers this year too. There IS certainly plenty to do and see, and the kids are catered for. The food and drink was excellent, and the line up is usually fab, especially when we went, and also this year. I don’t care for the Levellers, but this is a really popular event, and the early Glasto analogy is absolutely spot on.

Regarding the atmosphere, I must say I’ve always found the complete opposite. Having negotiated the main field many times with a wagon with a small child inside (sometimes even mid-Levellers) I’ve never encountered more than a tetchy tutting which, in all fairness, is exactly what I’d do undr the circumstances.
I think there are probably first night tent raids at most festivals (certainly at Cropredy) however the added security afforded by the stewards’ towers means that (for instance) one inebriated fence jumper could be observed, laughed at and eventually collared last year, with a few hardy campers joining in, before he could do any further damage. They were also able to watch Mrs. K’s hapless attempts to put up a gazebo solo and pop down to offer to help. That was also the year she dropped her fully-loaded wallet in a field somewhere and was able to pick it up, cards and cash intact, from Lost Property the next day. They, also, tutted.

I’d be on Skirky’s side here. I’ve always found it all pretty friendly, even for a notoriously grumpy old sod like myself. Some bands do attract different types though, so perhaps your experience was related to the bill? (I am thinking specifically of Alabama 3 here…).

Tent thefts are a universal ill at festivals these days, I’m sorry to think. It certainly happens at Bearded Theory. People get excited on the first night, go to bed drunk and not likely to be easily disturbed, while leaving wallets full of their spending money for the whole weekend laying around in a tent. Easy pickings for the villains, who are normally organised gangs. Some of them may have jumped the fence, but they mostly buy tickets like any other punter. They view it as the price of doing business, and will make the money back several times over. My tip is put wallet and phone right in the sleeping bag with you.

Yes, that was the advice at Cropredy, but at least you have your car by your tent there. The security was very visible this year, and also got talking to some covert security guys who told me about a gang they caught last year who had been raiding stalls in the village.

We have been going for the last few years and find it really safe and friendly. We have abandoned the Isle of Wight festival as its poorly organised and too crammed in ( 70,000 on the Sunday this year). Highlight this year was Henge and being able to buy the Telegraph – Yes, I think I was the only one!